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Arts festival opening on Rockaway peninsula

NEW YORK (AP) — New York’s Rockaway peninsula is the site of an arts festival featuring resident and singer-songwriter Patti Smith and other artists.

The free Rockaway! festival celebrates the reopening of Fort Tilden, a former U.S. Army installation that’s part of Gateway National Recreation Area. It opens Sunday and runs through Sept. 1.

The Queens peninsula was heavily damaged by Superstorm Sandy and some areas are still struggling.

Rockaway! was conceived by Smith and Rockaway resident Klaus Biesenbach, director of MoMA PS1.

Smith created several works for the festival, including a site-specific installation consisting of a gilded four-post bed covered in white linens inside an abandoned building. It will symbolize courage and resilience as it naturally wears down.

Small clay and straw sculptures by Argentinian artist Adrian Villar Rojas are among other exhibitions.

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